I don't identify with being disabled, but I have to be careful to keep my nerves from flaring up. For me there's a fine line between 'somewhat functional' and '

I don't identify with being disabled, but I have to be careful to keep my nerves from flaring up. For me there's a fine line between 'somewhat functional' and 'invalid'. Two years ago, on a submission titled "Laziness Does Not Exist but unseen barriers do", one of you all used the term "invisible disabilities" [0]. I found this to be descriptive of what I've experienced since I knocked myself out at the lake when I was 17 years old. From my reply to [0], "I used to think I mostly recovered from that head injury, but I've recently realized that it left me rather non-functional. I'm making progress, but I guess I'm 'invisibly disabled', in certain ways." In the beginning I went to some doctors trying to figure out my nerve condition. One of the tragedies of modern medicine [1] is how sometimes doctors diagnose their patient and treat the diagnosis, instead of looking deeper for causes behind the patient's symptoms. Such is the essential nature of a 10-minute office visit. I did get a helpful idea recently -- a PA suggested my one symptom indicated 'allergies'. My subsequent searches turned up better treatments than the medications I was prescribed. Recently I made a disability-act complaint with the state attorney general's office about being discriminated against by a business. The main thing was they didn't realize they did anything wrong, and I'm not the only person getting discriminated against in that specific way. I figured that by making the complaint I was also helping others who are similarly 'invisibly disabled', much worse than I am, who aren't capable of figuring out how to stand up for themselves against societal idiocy. The state Attorney General's office was swamped with similar complaints. It was 1.5 months before my intake interview. I don't know how many complaints they decide to go with, but I had my story and documentation in order and the AG's office agreed to file charges on my behalf. I bet the business won't even remember me. tl/dr: many people have chronic conditions. Sometimes people can recover, sometimes they won't, but I think it important to help people maintain 'hope' that they can do something to improve their situation, or find some insight into their predicament that provides a silver lining. Christopher Reeves' [2] comes to mind. Two quotes: "When we have hope, we discover powers within ourselves we may have never known- the power to make sacrifices, to endure, to heal, and to love. Once we choose hope, everything is possible." "You play the hand you’re dealt. I think the game’s worthwhile." [0] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17721273 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17721273 [1] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=25355990 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=25355990 [2] actor who played Superman (1978) & became a quadriplegic in 1995 after falling off a horse...